Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Happy New Year!

We head into Winter Term with quiet halls as our Year Two students are out on their OccTh 526 (Level 2) placements. The U of A students are represented from coast to coast from Prince George, BC to Saint John, NB. We are also pleased to be hosting students from Australia, U of M, Western, Queens, Dalhousie and the Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres to Alberta and Saskatchewan! It is truly a collaborative effort to coordinate national and international placements and it all hinges on our great clinical community, so thank you!

For the U of A MScOT students, Level 2 placements are where they start to transition from "Knowledge Application" to "Reflection in Action". They can not only make a plan for an assessment or intervention but also start to evaluate how and why things unfolded the way they did. It can take students a while to wrap their heads around the fact that there may be more than one 'correct' answer and path to supporting our clients in participating in meaningful occupations. Preceptors start to move from 'teaching' to 'coaching' and can encourage students to come up with their own theories, providing input and suggestions they may not have considered. There are several good preceptor resources on our Clinical Education section of the U of A OT Department website [ click here ]. Stay tuned for information on Preceptor Workshops later this spring!

Finally, it may seem like a long way away but we have begun to plan for spring and summer placements for the following courses: